This is a series of ads from the early 20th century right up to the 1970s.
You might notice what they’re advertising is, instead of the weight loss solutions we’re used to today, they’re actually advertising weight GAIN.
‘It’s hard to believe they once called me skinny!’
‘Skinny girls are NOT glamour girls!’
‘a skinny, scarecrow figure is neither fashionable nor glamourous!’
‘thousands quickly gaining beauty-bringing pounds!’
Notice how less than a hundred years ago, these ads were meant to shame thin bodies the way weight loss ads shame fat bodies today? Notice that how as time goes by, the ‘ideal’ body shape changes from era to era? Notice how in these ads as well as those seen today, they’re meant to make people feel bad about the way they look?
These ads are just as bad as the ones that run today. They’re meant to shame you and make you feel inadequate for one sole reason: so you go out and spend money on their products. It’s not about your self esteem, your health, or your happiness. It’s about selling the product. It’s about making the money.
Your body is NOT wrong. You don’t need pills, diets, or supplements to make you happy, attractive, or ‘right’. All bodies are good bodies. It doesn’t matter if you’re skinny, fat, tall, short, disabled, scarred, anything at all.
Do not let the media dictate what you think you should be. The media is fickle. It does not care about you. Don’t let yourself care about what it says.
Love,
